(Notre Dame Football Recruiting News) – Aaron Lynch, rated by some as the top performing defensive player at the Army All-American game, committed to the Irish today and will enroll as an early entry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjBa-jpVJT0 width=200 Lynch was a disruptive force in the game and gives the Irish a powerful defensive end who’s a threat to break through on any play.
Teamed with Tuitt, Carrico and Springman (Williams is an OLB) ND will be able to rotate four powerful long defense ends in Diaco’s defense (one that requires constant substitution.) This was a critical recruiting need as most of ND’s top defensive ends are seniors and the Irish have all but whiffed at the position the last two years. Lynch, Williams and Tuitt are all expected to rise dramatically in the rankings and have many Irish fans thinking about Bradley, Fry and Browner.

USC recruit Cody Kessler may have looking into the future when he described the pressure that the East Defense (including Tuitt, Lynch and Williams) put on him, “Their D line is just flat-out big and fast. Our line was doing their best but their speed was hard to stop. Every time I looked up there was one of those black jerseys. Lots of talent on that D line…. everyone is great.”

Aaron Lynch and the East team proved that defense doesn’t just win championships – it wins all-star games, too. Lynch, an Island Coast defensive end, led a relentless pass rush that tallied more sacks – 12 – than the West had points in East’s 13-10 win in front of a bowl-record crowd of 37,893 at the Alamodome.

“There’s not another defensive line out there better than what we had today. We had the best of the best,” Lynch said. “If we all went to the same school, that team would win the BCS championship each of the four years.” Lynch finished with 2.5 sacks on the day, which tied for the game high with Ray Drew of Thomasville, Ga. Lynch got started early, blowing by the tackle and sacking quarterback J.W. Walsh in the open field.

But his biggest moments came in the last three minutes. The East scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:14 remaining. Its defense responded by forcing the West to turn the ball over on downs with two half sacks coming from Lynch. He came up big again on the West’s last-ditch drive with another solo sack.

“I didn’t do it alone. All those linemen had at least one sack,” Lynch said. “The reason I got sacks was because of them.” The East defense held the West to just 144 yards, including minus-20 rushing due to all the sacks. The West could only muster one true positive play, a 35-yard touchdown catch by Jaxon Shipley, a Texas commit from Brownwood, Texas. “It was kind of hard to drop back and look up to make your read and there’s two guys in your face,” said West quarterback Cody Kessler, a quarterback out of Bakersfield, Calif., committed to USC.

Gators coach Joe Bowen has seen the situation play out before. He’s beginning to expect Lynch, who now is a towering 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, to be in the right place at the right time when the Gators need a spark.

With the Gators clinging to a 6-0 lead in the second quarter against Mariner, the defense converged on the quarterback, knocked the ball loose and there was Lynch to pick it up and take it in for the score.

“It was great timing,” Bowen said. “Aaron throughout the years I’ve had him, it always seems like he’s there at the right time.”

One of Lynch’s most dominant performances came in the preseason jamboree at Port Charlotte when he registered four sacks and a safety in the Gators’ 8-7 win. He sacked the quarterback six times in a game against Moore Haven last year, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the spring game against Lakewood Ranch. Lynch has played football in the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers area for 12 years. He was a running back, at times, during his Pop Warner days, but has settled into his predominant role as a defensive end.He’s made his biggest impact by putting heat on opposing quarterbacks, registering seven sacks in five games this season.

“You have to be smart and take good angles,” Lynch said of rushing the passer. “When you do that, you can get there””Everyone looks at him to see what he’s doing,” Bowen said. “If he’s working out, the other players will follow the lead when you have guys like that.”

Overall, Lynch has prototypical size and athleticism to play on Sundays down the road. He can chase the ball anywhere on the field, he plays with a lot of speed, he moves well laterally, and he has a lot of room to still improve his game

He is a competitor that plays with a good motor and possesses a quality first step. Lynch shows great lateral mobility. He is raw as a pass rusher relying on his athleticism, he needs to add some moves to arsenal. Lynch could easily play TE, he has outstanding hands, and could be a plus blocker.

ESPN ranks him as the 7th defensive end in the country:

Lynch is capable of being a real handful. He is a big kid with good height and bulk, but the thing that really puts a smile on your face is that he still has upside physically and as a player. He looks to have the frame to still add more.

With Ishaq and Tuitt, this line will be tough after 2 years of the weights and training table. If Manti stays all 4 years, 2012 could be a special defense to watch. Good work by Kelly & Co. on landing some top recruits

I thought Carrico and Springman are projecting as offensive linemen for us? Rabasa is other DE we picked up in this class.

I’m also excited about Councell; he has all the physical tools to be a nasty Dog LB for us, which gives him a huge upside. If Kelly’s penchant for quality player development continues, we should have a championship quality defense in a few year’s time.

Imagine Tuitt, Nix, and Lynch on the line, with Williams rushing from as the Cat LB. Opposing QBs will explode.

I have tried to stay low key, but this is a grand slam for our defensive recruitment. I’ve longed for the days of Irish defensive dominance and the sheer terror it can bring to our opponents. March 17th may be a great day for the Irish, but this comes darn close…… Go Irish.

Bob, Ty, and Charlie never could get these kinds of players to ND. The coaching and recruiting staff are doing an amazing job. While talent on offense is important, defensive dominance is what will bring this program back. With this group of recruits it looks like ND will indeed be back.

It is about time ND finally got someone who is proven at DEVELOPING talent and can bring in top recruits as well.

For all those who said Kelly couldn’t recruit with the big boys, I hope you are all choking on your words now. Imagine in 2 years as Teo is in his senior year, Nix as a junior and Williams, Councell, Tuitt and Lynch as sophomores.

Lets hang on to Tuitt and pick up either Huggins or Carlisle. Then lets go play some football baby!!! I love what this staff is doing, plus you look at the leap Kelly’s teams make in year two and we are on the verge of becoming legitimate contenders again.

charlie was able to bring thease recruits but he just couldnt develope them on the defensive side of the ball. Remember it was Weis that recruited Manti Teo. Jimmy Clausen and Mike Floyd were also Weis recruits. Either way im happy with Brian Kelly and how he is coaching and recruiting.

Great job closing on these guys. It’s been a long time since we had a real dominant defense. That’s what wins championships. I know we have Stockton and Nix in the wings ready to go, but I think we need to get another quality defensive tackle to clog up the middle, recruit at least one every year. Tired of losing out on Austin, McCoy etc.